


Would She Could Make Of Me

by echoinautumn (maybetwice)



Category: Venetia - Georgette Heyer
Genre: F/M, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Married Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-21
Updated: 2014-12-21
Packaged: 2018-03-02 14:20:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2815148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maybetwice/pseuds/echoinautumn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the most shocking match of the season, Lord and Lady Damerel defy all expectation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Would She Could Make Of Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [imaginarycircus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginarycircus/gifts).



  
_Would I were free from this restraint,_  
 _Or else had hopes to win her;_  
 _Would she could make of me a saint,_  
 _Or I of her a sinner._  
\--William Congreve

*

On the sixth day of January, my lord Damerel was bound in holy matrimony to Miss Lanyon with astonishingly little fanfare for the most shocking lovematch of that season.

Indeed, their marriage was widely expected to be the most scandalous for many years to come, and one might hear that Lord Damerel had seduced the beautiful Miss Lanyon, and that she, prone to the disastrous downfall of her blood, had quite ruined herself. The truth was that there was nothing but the faintest whiff of improper behavior from the new Lady Damerel and her rakeish husband to lend countenance to the hushed rumors that spread like fire through the _ton_ and even those rumors could not be even remotely confirmed by anyone of repute. 

With the strictest of social conventions perfectly followed and the patronage of such a figure as Mr Hendred, there was nothing to prevent a proper engagement period, a notice in the _Gazette_ , the negotiations of Venetia’s dowry, the issuance of a regular marriage license and, finally, a snow-swept wedding at Elliston Priory.

*

They honeymooned in Damerel’s hunting lodge, busying themselves in ways that the _ton_ could never speculate about, except behind firmly-closed parlour doors. Lady Damerel took a glow of happiness while secluded from prying eyes and wagging tongues. A well-timed winter storm closed the roads and slowed the Mail, which carried the news to hungry eyes near and far, and so it was not until my lord returned to York with his wife that the scandal erupted with any force.

That force took the form of Sir Conway Lanyon, swiftly returned to England when presented with a note of congratulations on his elder sister’s nuptials from a gentleman who had made his acquaintance on the continent. 

When Sir Lanyon had returned to find Undershaw absent either of his siblings, his wife brow-beaten by a mother infuriated by the the meddling of his man of business, and confirmation of all the rumors that his sister had married with no consent but her own, though perhaps she had also secured some dubious type of support from their uncle. 

Conway stormed from Undershaw after a blow-up with his mother-in-law in the entrance hall, quite publicly, where even the lowest maids could see. Looking like a demon on a fine piece of horseflesh he had procured in London on his way to Yorkshire, Conway galloped from the finely-kept grounds of Undershaw toward the Priory. Even dear Clara Denny, still utterly shattered by the disappointment Conway had turned out to be, was heard to dreamily admit that Conway must have looked quite the hero.

But whatever was said between my lord and his wife’s brother was never revealed, only what came afterward. Conway did not appear to have called him out for honor’s sake, since both men were shockingly whole and unmolested when seen again, and no doctor for miles had so much as heard of any duels. Conway returned to Undershaw with his heroic nature tarnished, and perhaps in a fit of the sullens that did not pass for days, and Lady Lanyon blushed and refused to speak, even under the strictest assurances of confidence, of what had come to pass. 

What is known after that is that Sir Lanyon sold out and returned to Undershaw permanently (or as permanently as Conway could be trusted to be anywhere), and made regular calls to Elliston Priory to visit his siblings and brother-in-law, without any further trouble.

*

Mr Aubrey Lanyon went down to Oxford later that year, and though the most frequent recipient of his letters were his elder sister, so too did her husband also receive his own lengthy missives.

These were often the most efficient way for Aubrey to convey his disappointment in the receding expectations for students ( _You would not believe, Venetia, how utterly stupid my classmates are, or even how they casually disregard their studies in favor of foolishness I should be ashamed to be caught in_ ), and how very inconvenient he found it to have lost access to my lord’s library, which contained some items that could not be found in halls so illustrious as his university ( _Damerel, you must send me the book we discussed this past summer, which I am shocked to say cannot be found anywhere. The man in the library is just as stupid as you might imagine, swearing indeed that no such book exists! I cannot recall the title, but you may recall it had handsome leather binding and contained detailed information on…_ ). By all accounts, however, even those written double-crossed on both sides of three whole pages, it did seem that Aubrey was happy.

*

Venetia and Damerel were a romantic’s dream: a beautiful, unsullied woman freeing an incurable rakehell from his vices and winning his most devoted affections. That devoted affection that Damerel gave to Venetia, mad and unchained, passionate and not at all reserved, was perhaps the thing that was least acceptable to society, and most revered by them.

Still, just the same, Mr Hendred dared to believe that the careful rise in opinion of Damerels could be greatly attributed to the charming disposition his niece was blessed with, which left society disarmed and unprepared for the less civil aspects to the Damerels’ marriage. What little countenance Mr Hendred could lend to them was enough to cover for the rest.

*

For his part, my lord Damerel spent many years unlearning the habits of his lifetime.

Not that he could ever redeem himself into a figure of any great honor and stature among society, so ruined was his reputation. Drinking would perhaps be his life’s weakness, but as he had no violent disposition, this was of no concern to anyone, least of all his wife, who was not disturbed by his flushed cheeks and disheveled, roguish appearance when he indulged. 

Scandal greatly anticipated never fully manifested, and the only rumors that sprouted could be easily traced to faulty sources that no one could believe, no matter how badly they might like to. Damerel could not be tied to any orgy of forbidden pleasures, any public affair splashed upon the society pages, and though it remained difficult to find new servants in the Priory, none quit after being exposed to the most unspeakable acts imaginable ever again.

*

Venetia found very quickly that marriage suited her quite well.

A love-match was a rarity among her father’s set. Though it seemed to be a popular notion among her peers, there remained some expectation that her love must meet predetermined markers for civility, which Venetia rejected entirely. Whether that was her mother’s blood in her or simply the natural result of her father’s retirement from society was some cause for debate, though not between herself and her lord husband. The effect was that she and Damerel were a naturally affectionate pair who shocked whenever they found themselves forced into society. 

It was lucky, then, that they were not a popular pair, except with Damerel’s old set and among those who relished the Damerels’ presence for the particular prestige it lent their card parties and dress balls. Venetia did not especially wish to be a spectacle for entertainment, nor to tempt Damerel back to the old habits that imparted him with deep self-loathing, and therefore did not accept invitations from either parties. It seemed that Damerel was the happier for it.

They did not spend a great deal of time in London, choosing to stay home in the Priory or travel abroad, now that it was safe on the continent. Venetia had long ago accepted the indifferent, wandering affections of men, but if Damerel carried on with any other women along the way, he was mercifully discreet. Having given up membership to his clubs and returning home to make love to her with otherwise alarming regularity and intensity, Venetia was very happy, and had no reason to believe Damerel loved her any less for any opera dancers she might have been warned of before choosing to marry him.

So, it seemed also that married life suited Damerel, perhaps just as well.


End file.
